Superintendent's Community Update: February 12, 2021

Dear AUSD School Community,

Here is your weekly update on reopening Albany schools for in-person learning. It was a busy week, and a great deal of progress was made. 

This update will cover:

• In-Person Hubs Opened Thursday, February 11th
• Target Dates for Secondary Hybrid Reopening
• Limited Before- and After-School Care for Young Students
• Public Health Metric Updates

In-Person Hubs Opened at Four School Sites

I am pleased to announce that new in-person learning hubs opened yesterday, February 11, at four school sites. These hubs are in addition to the Albany Children’s Center Preschool hubs, which have been open since November 2020. The new hubs will serve some of our most vulnerable students and are a big step forward. Intervention Support Hubs were opened at Cornell, Marin, and Ocean View Elementary Schools. The students in these first groups were selected based on multiple criteria, it was not a random selection or a lottery system. These hubs are a very specific, intentional intervention for targeted students. Intervention hubs are meeting Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9:00am–12:00pm. Each family is required to complete the Student COVID-19 Symptom Screener before drop-off each morning. At Albany Middle School, a Special Day Class Hub was opened. All of these hubs are staffed by AUSD’s paraeducators. Please join me in giving a huge shout-out to our dedicated paraeducators!

Hybrid Reopening News

At the February 9, 2021 Board of Education meeting, Trustees approved a target date of March 29 for the hybrid reopening of Albany Middle School and Albany High School. As a reminder, previous Board-approved dates for Hybrid Reopening were February 1 for TK and Kindergarten, February 8 for 1st -2nd grades, and February 22 for 3rd-5th grades. The Board also requested that the 6th grade hybrid program open when the 5th graders return. Not all criteria have been met, so these programs are not yet open. I take these target dates seriously and the district is diligently working toward hybrid reopening. See below for the complete reopening criteria. 

Before- and After- School Care

AUSD is planning to reopen a space-limited before- and after- school care program when elementary school hybrid programs open. AUSD will only enroll students who are opting for in-person hybrid instruction. The wait list will open up prior to the elementary hybrid reopening date, with actual enrollment beginning two weeks prior to hybrid opening. Two classrooms will be available at each elementary school, with space for 14 students in each classroom. Priority will be given to subsidized families, current students, and then students in grades TK-3rd. Tentative operational hours will be 8:00am–4:00pm Monday/Tuesday for Cohort A and Thursday/Friday for Cohort B with staggered arrival and dismissal times coordinated at each of the school sites. 

Public Health Metric Updates

• The adjusted case rate in Alameda County has dropped below 25 cases /100,000 population for five consecutive days, so this criteria for reopening grades TK–6th has now been satisfied. 
• AUSD is required to have posted a COVID-19 Safety Plan (CSP) in two parts: 
• The first part, the AUSD School Guidance Checklist and Reopening Plan, was accepted by the county on January 25, 2021.
• The second part, a COVID-19 Prevention Program (CPP) will be finalized and posted in the next several days.
• The AUSD COVID-19 Dashboard indicates that Albany classrooms meet Alameda County safety requirements.
• Agreements with labor partners must be completed.